Susan Cliff - Navy Seal Rescue

Bound by more than desire...

A gripping Team Twelve romantic thriller

Sexy SEAL William Hudson will accept any help escaping enemy captivity...even if that comes from beautiful Dr. Layah Anwar, who’s willing to do anything to get her family to safety. Though neither Layah nor Hud trust easily, they must join forces on a harrowing journey across the mountains. Their survival is threatened by the brutal elements, enemy snipers...and the devastating desire they can’t deny.

SUSAN CLIFFis the pen name of a longtime romance reader and professional writer from Southern California. She loves survival stories and sexy romance, so she decided to write both! Her Team Twelve series features men to die for—hot navy SEALs who live on the edge and fall hard for their heroines. Visit her at susancliff.com.

Also By Susan Cliff

Team Twelve

Stranded with the Navy SEAL

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Navy SEAL Rescue

Susan Cliff

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07882-5

NAVY SEAL RESCUE

© 2018 Susan Cliff

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

“Why did he want us to get married?” Hud asked.

“Yelda told him we were sleeping together,” Layah said.

“Why would she do that?”

“I don’t know. She thinks we are destined to marry.”

His eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“I did not encourage her,” she said, placing a palm on her chest.

“Right. You’d never force anyone to do anything against their will.”

“I have no interest—”

“No interest? Really?”

“Not in marriage.”

“You don’t strike me as the casual-affair type.”

She lifted her chin. “I feel desire, like any woman. I remember the pleasures of the bedroom. That does not mean I wish for a reluctant husband.”

He didn’t argue, so she continued walking. They seemed to have reached an understanding. She didn’t want to say too much.

Admitting her desire for him wasn’t a problem; he already knew.

Dear Reader,

While I was writing Stranded with the Navy SEAL, the first in the Team Twelve series, I became interested in a side character. The hero’s friend and comrade, William Hudson, seemed like a perfect candidate for a thrilling romance. The only problem? He was dead.

Believed dead. He’d entered a building that exploded. No remains were recovered.

In Navy SEAL Rescue, Hud has survived the blast, against all odds, and been captured by the enemy. He’s the first navy SEAL captive in the history of the organization, because SEALs never surrender. I learned that on Wikipedia. In addition to being a captive, and an elite soldier, Hud is an expert mountain climber. The heroine, Dr. Layah Anwar, desperately needs someone with his skill set. She helps him escape and their adventure begins.

Both Hud and Layah are resilient people who’ve endured personal hardships. He’s divorced. She’s a widow. Neither character wants to risk their heart again, especially when their lives are at stake. So of course they fall in love.

I hope you enjoy their story.

Susan Cliff

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

Telskuf, Iraq

Hud was in hell.

He’d woken up here two months ago, buck naked and half-dead, caked in a mixture of blood and dust.

This particular corner of hell was an underground spider-hole with four walls, a solid dirt floor and no light. The only exit was an impenetrable metal door. It had a slot wide enough to push a tray through. He ate whatever they served with his bare hands. On good days, the gruel had bits of meat and gristle. On bad days, he went hungry.

Each week he was given a gallon of drinking water and an empty bucket. He’d learned to ration his water or suffer the consequences. He hadn’t bathed since his arrival, unless he counted that extended waterboarding session with his new terrorist friends. One afternoon of this method had almost broken him, despite his extensive Navy SEAL training, but they hadn’t continued. They must have decided it was a waste of water. Either that or they thought he’d die before he coughed up any useful information.

In addition to waterboarding, he’d been treated to periods of sleep deprivation, electroshock therapy and regular beatings.

He almost missed the beatings; they’d made him feel alive. He craved human contact, even in the form of fists. He preferred blood to dust. Blood was pain, hot and bright. Dust was oblivion. It was the dark nothingness that smothered him. It rained down on his head from the cracked ceiling like a slow burial.

Sometimes he closed his eyes and pretended he was back in Iowa, in the storm cellar on his grandparents’ farm. He hadn’t wanted to be cooped up underground, protected from the elements. He’d never been afraid of thunder and lightning. He’d wanted to chase tornadoes and climb mountains and touch the sky.